Apparatus for varying playing intensity of player-pianos and the like.



G. M. RUSSELL.

APPARATUS FOR VARYING PLAYING INTENSITY OF PLAYER HANG-S AND THE UKE.

APPLICATJON FILED JUNEZ. 1914.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918,

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I G. M. RUSSELL. APPARATUS FOR VARYING PLAYING INTENSITY 0F PLAYER PIANOS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. I914.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUY M. RUSSEL or noonnsrnn, NEW YORK, nssrsnon TO AMERICAN PIANO COM- :PANY, or nnw YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JnnsEY.

APPARATUS FOR VARYING PLAYING INTENSITY 0F PLAYER-PIANOS AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

Application filed June 2, 1914. SerialNo. 842,500.

To, all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, GUY M. RUssELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, county of Monroe, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Varying Playing Intensity of Player-Pianos and the like, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawin'gs representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus by which the playing intensities of player pianos or the like may be generally increased or decreased so that the entire playing will be rendered louder or softer. For example if a piano player he found to play too brilliantly to suit the particular acoustic properties of a given room or too brilliantly for the purposes of a given composition, the general'loudness of playing may be reduced by an adjustment which will be permanent for whatever period may be desired.

Among other objects the invention is in tended to provide means by which the opera tor may'adjust the loudness of playing by a permanent adjustment for the purposes suggested.

The characteristics of the invention may be'readil'y understood by'reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows one embodiment of the invention in diagrammatic form;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of certain parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2 viewed from the direction of the arrow 3t in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2 viewed from the direction of the arrow 4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 shows a typical piano action comprising a hammer 5, string 6, damper 7, wippen 8, abstract 9 and hammer rest rail 10. A pneumatic playing action is shown comprising a striker pneumatic 11 having a sticker 12. An action chest 13 is connected by a trunk 14 with the neumatic regulator 15 having a throttle valve 16 controlling a port to a trunk 17 leading to feeder bellows of any practicable type, not necessary to be shown. The trunk 17 sufficiently exemplifies a source of pneumatic power for operating the "pneumatic action comprising the pneumatic 11. The regulator spring 18 is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever fulcrumed at 19, the other arm of the lever being connected by a link 20 to a manually operable controlling means 21 having a detent 5O engaging a notched bar' 51.. By moving the rod 20 endwise the tension of the regulator spring 18 may be varied to modify the regulation and produce changes in playing intensities as will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

Mounted upon the key bed 25 of the instrument is a pneumatic 26 which is preferably always connected with a source of power, as the duct 17, by a duct 27. Thus whenever the feeder bellows or other-pumping mechanism is started, the tendency is to collapse the bellows 26. Mounted upon the movable board 29 of the bellows, and movable therewith, is an arm 30 which stands beneath a pin 31 upon a rod 32 which is usually termed the soft pedal rod of the piano action, 0., the rod which moves the hammer rest rail 10 up and down so that by its link 33 the hammers are moved toward or from the strings to increase or decrease the loudness of playing.

W'ith this arrangement the collapse of the pneumatic 26 when the feeder bellows are started, rocks the arm 30 clockwise in Fig. 1 (contra-clockwise in Fig. 4) thereby lifting the soft pedal rod 32 and moving the hammers toward the strings through the distance determined by the extent of collapse permitted the pneumatic 26.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the movable board 29 of the pneumatic 26 has secured thereto a stop arm 40 which overlies a lever 42 fulcrumed at 43 to a stationary part of the piano frame preferably above the key bed 25. The lever 42 cooperates with a stop rest 45 (see Fig. 3) which has two stop surfaces 46 and 47, a third stop surface 48 be ing provided by an adjacent part of the key bed. In Fig. 3 the lever 42 is shown as resting upon the stop surface 46. In this position the stop bar 40 contacts with the lever 42 at an early stage in the collapsing of the bellows 26 and thereby prevents the bellows 26 from moving the hammers more than a I slight di tance toward the strings, the result being to diminish the general loudness of playing to only a slight extent. If however the operator adjusts the lever 42 downwardly until it rests upon the stop surface 47, the pneumatic 26 will be permitted to collapse further and thereby move the hammers closer to the strings. Likewise if the lever 42 be adjusted until it rest on the stop surface &8, the pneumatic 26 will be permitted a still further collapse to move the hammers up to comparatively close proximity to the strings. These adjustments of the lever 42 are permanent in character and having been once made are maintained, with their resulting effects upon the hammers and loudness of playing, until the adjustment is deliberately changed.

When the feeder bellows cease to operate, the pneumatic 29 is no longer exhausted and it therefore expands to its normal position wherein it ceases to have any efiect upon the position of the hammer rest rail 10. Thus whenever the feeder bellows are started the pneumatic 26 is automatically collapsed to the extent determined by the prevailing adjustment of the lever 42; and when the feeder bellows are no longer operated, the pneumatic 26 is automatically released and permitted to expand so that the normal position of the hammer rest rail 10 is auto matically restored for manual playing ac companied by pedal operation of the hammer rest rail without any interference from the described apparatus.

It will be observed that the illustrative expression varying mechanism exemplified by the regulator 15, spring 18 and manual device 21, may be employed to vary the expression as often as desired during the playing of any composition, while at the same time the general degree of loudness may be permanently adjusted, as by the lever l2, without affecting the operation of the described regulator 15, spring 18 and manual device 21.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction, organization and mode of operation shown in the drawings and described above for illustration. On the contrary, the invention may be variously embodied and the illustrative construction may be variously modified within the proper scope of the claims.

Claims:

1. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of playing actions including hammers; means for varying at will the intensity of playing by said actions; a movable hammer rail and pneumatic means acting upon said hammer rail for fixedly adjusting the maximum degree of loudness of playing by said actions.

2. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of playing actions including hammers; a source of power for operating said actions: a throttle valve between said source of power and said actions for vary- Copies of this patent may be obtained for ing transmission therebetween to vary playing intensities; and penumatic means acting upon said hammer rail for fixedly adjusting the maximum loudness of playing by said actlons.

3. In an automatic musical instrument, the combiation of strings and hammers; automatic actions for operating the hammers; a source of power to operate said actions; and means in constant communication with the source of power adapted to be adjustably set to move the hammers a predetermined distance toward the strings when the power starts.

4:. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of strings and hammers; automatic actions for operating the hammers; a source of power to operate said actions; means in constant communication with the source of power to move the hammers toward the strings; and stop means adapted to be set in a plurality of positions to limit the operation of said hammer moving means.

5. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of strings and hammers; automatic actions for operating the hammers; a source of power to operate said actions; automatic means in constant communication with the source of power to move the hammers toward the strings and to hold them in fixed relation thereto; and means to control the operation of said automatic means thereby to govern the distance of movement of the hammers.

6. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of strings and hammers; automatic actions for operating the hammers; a source of power to operate said actions; a rail for moving the hammers toward and from the strings; a pneumatic for moving said rail upon collapse thereby; and means permently connecting said pneumatic with said source of power.

7 In an automatic musical instrument, the combination of strings and hammers; automatic actions for operating the hammers; a source of power to operate said ac tions; a rail for moving the hammers toward and from the strings; a pneumatic for moving said rail upon collapse thereby; means permanently connecting said penumatic with said source of power; and means for adjusting the extent of collapse of said pneumatic.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUY M. RUSSELL.

Witnesses: Y

C. G. ODELL, M. V. Gnavns.

five cents each, by addressing the fcommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

